Reinforced heel with replaceable tap



W, 19 60 F. M. RONC.I 2935799 REINFORCED HEEL WITH REPLACEIABLE TAP Filed Jan. 20, 1959 FIG! F I G. 4

INVENTOR. FERNANDO M. RONCI ATTORNE United; States" PatenfO REINFORCED rmar. wrrn REPLACEABLE TAP Fernando M. Ronci, Providence, RI. Application Jam-y 20, 1959, Serial No. 787,965

1 Claim. (c1. aa-34 My present invention. relates tothe shoe making art .and more particularly to a novel construction of a heel and tap.

' The principal object of the present invention is to pro- With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a heel embodying my invention. I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the tap;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the tap mounting showing a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tap supporting rivet.

The modern womans high heel is made extremely thin, usually one-half inch or less in diameter, and molded of plastic material. To prevent breaking under strain it has been proposed to provide a tap held in place by a reinforcing metal core which is] screwed or otherwise forced into a vertical opening extending into the narrow portion of the heel. These constructions have been found to possess certain disadvantages. They cannot be removed without loosening them and destroying their support for the heel. Therefore the tap is not replaceable and metal taps have been used designed to wear for the life of the heel. These metal taps are annoying, loud and tend to scratch the floors and furniture, The'present invention provides a reinforced heel and tap construction which forms a, permanent reinforcement for the heel and utilizes a readilyreplaceable tap which can be of any desired material.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the heel of the present invention may be molded of plastic material with the conventional broad top poition tapering downwardly to the extremely narrow shank 11. The

shank 11 is provided with a vertical opening 12 which the heel portion 11 and must therefore fit tightly) into the opening 12 so that it must be forced into the opening.

r 2,935,799 Patented May 10, 1960 If desired an adhesive may he used on the rod or core 16 or the outside surface may be roughenedor fluted. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the rod 13 is slightly longer than the opening 12 so that its bottom end extends upwardly a short distance from the bottom end of the heel portion 11.

The tap 14 may be formed of any desired rnaterial such as leather, nylon, rubber, etc. The tap 14 is formed with a central opening having a narrow portion forming a shoulder 15 as shown in Fig. 2. Referring to Fig. '5, I now provide an attaching rivet having a hollow cylin- 'drical body portion 16 and an integral enlarged head 17 with flutes or serrations 18around the perimeter thereof. The attaching rivet is forced into the tap 14 into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The large tap opening is preferably the same diameter as the small diameter of the fluted head 17 so that when the rivet 16 is passed through the narrow portion of the opening the head 17 must be forced into the tap with the flutes 18 biting into the material. the head 17 is flush with the bottom of the tap 14 and acts as a heel plate to lengthen the Wear on the tap.

The inside diameter of the rivet section 16 is equal 1 the exposed portion of the core 13 will enter the rivet 16 for a short distance. A sharp blow on the bottom of the tap 14 will hammer the rivet inwardly so that i it is forced between the outer surface of the reinforcing core 13 and the plastic heel portion 11" as shown in Fig. 2. It will be found that the rivet portion 16 is tightly pinched in this position and the tap cannot be manually removed. The tap is now in place and since the walking pressure is upwardly, it will not fall out. To replace the tap it will be found that a pair of pliers can be used to remove the tap with a strong pull and a twisting motion.

The cobbler can then easily put anew tap in place by hammering it into the position shown in Fig. 2. If desired the head 17 can be made thinner than that shown in Fig. 5 so that the tap can be molded or formed over the head to completely cover the metal.

With the above construction the reinforcing core 13 is never removed and only the tap is replaceable. While it is desirable that the reinforcing core 13 extend downwardly into the rivet beyond thev bottom end of the heel, this is not necessary. Therefore, should the metal heel of the existing types of reinforcing cores become worn out the cobbler can cut or grind the heel and the protrudingportionjof the reinforcing core and then replace the tap'with the type of construction shown herein.v It is .thus contemplated that the tap ofthe present invention can be used wtih the reinforcing core shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or as a replacement for the general type of con structions now in use. The outside of the rivet portion [16 may also be roughened or fluted as shown in Fig. 5.

member 22 of the tap 23. In forming the narrow portion 21, a curved shoulder 24 is formed in the core 20. When the tap 23 is now hammered into position the upper edge of the rivet 22 will be forced to flare outwardly at 25 by the shoulder 24 and bite into the surrounding plastic material of the heel 19. This will serve as an additional holding-means to anchor the .tap in place.

The above construction thus provides a reinforced plastic heel having a readily replaceable tap. By supplying In the form shown the bottom surface of I the cobblers with the taps, the owner of the shoe can replace a worn out tap or replace one type of material with another type without disturbing thereinforcing functions of the core. Furthermore, it will be found that this type of construction is simpler and more economical to manufacture and easier to assemble. The cores can be made with both ends alike so that they can be forced into their openings without examination. Taps can be made of different materials to suit the requirements of the purchasers. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

, Iclaimfi i I A reinforced heel and tap comprising an integral onepiece heel having a broad top portion tapering to a very narrow heel portion, said heel' portion having a central vertical opening extending upwardly from the bottom end through said very narrow heel potrion, an elongated I lower end of said core extending downwardly from the solid reinforcing core seated tightly in said opening, the

bottom end of'said heel, said reinforcing core having-a smaller diameter at the lower end forming a tapered shoulder spaced from the lower end thereof, a tap at the bottom of said heel, and means for holding said tap on said heel, said means including a tubular hollow rivet extending from said tap into said heel opening and between said heel and said reinforcing core, said rivet having an inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the lower end of said reinforcing core, said rivet flaring outwardly at said shoulder to engage said heel when said tap is forced on to said heel and said rivet is forced over the lower end of said reinforcing core.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

